Donabe: Japan’s tagine
Soup, stews and perfectly steamed or wonderfully crispy rice? The Japanese make it all in a donabe, and soon you will too.
In the Middle East, they have the tagine, an earthenware pot that you place on the stove to prepare entire dishes in. In Japan, they have the donabe. It’s incredibly easy to simply throw everything into the donabe (stock, rice, chicken, vegetables, tofu) and make a quick meal. Essentially a one-pot dish, but a thousand times better.
Rice
Even white rice tastes so much better when you prepare it in the donabe. The texture is completely different from when you simply cook it in a pan, and the flavor is much more intense. You can also make Korean bibimbap in it. Because it heats so evenly, the rice cooks perfectly and you also get a crispy bottom. Top it with whatever you like and you’re done. Or steam your rice together with fish, so all the flavors meld together.
On the table
The donabe also retains heat for a very long time, which means you can serve entire dishes in it at the table. This keeps your soup (this one, for example, with chicken, fish, mushrooms and glass noodles) warm, and your guests can help themselves whenever they feel like it. Or go for a hotpot, with hot stock on the table in which you cook your own ingredients.
Smoking
Some models even have a built-in rack, allowing you to smoke food in them. The Amsterdam-based Don Abe sells lovely (and very beautiful) donabes. Take a look here to see which model suits you, and immediately start cooking like a maniac (and conveniently: this is how you stock your Japanese pantry). Bet you’ll use this more often than that tagine gathering dust somewhere?
Also read:
- The rise of this appliance in Japan is unstoppable
- Recipe: Jamie Oliver’s super-quick tagine with white fish
- These are the exact locations featured in Netflix Street Food Japan
